Does anyone know how to make tomatoes grow?

Question

I have tried and tried to plant tomatoes in my garden, but it doesnt seem to be working. They dont ever grow to their potential size and I dont know if its because I might have weeds that is preventing them from growing or not. I pull my weeds so I dont know what else it could be.I would appreciate it if someone would give me some tips. Thanks!!

I live in Baltimore County.

I can tell it is going to be VERY hard for me to choose a best answer when the time comes. I am going to try ALL of the advice that has been given to me on here!! I'll let you know how it goes.( If interested).

Addressed to:
icsowesmemoney( below)

LMAO!! My first thought upon reading your answer was hilarity. And then, when I read it again, I became very, very, angry. The reason why us " stupid" peolpe get on here and ask such " stupid" questions is because there are opinions that people on here can give us that websites DON'T offer. There is a wealth of knowledge that people on Yahoo Answers do know. I am sure that you have asked a " dumb" question before, but someone was just too kind to point it out to you. I pity someone like you for thinking this way. You obviously have a closed mine to ways that you can learn things. Or is it because you have a " small" mind. I can also tell that the size of your brain coincides with the size of your d***. I am sorry to have to be so rude, but you took it there, so I am just reciprocating what you dished out. I also want to tell you to lighten up in life. Things are never as hard as they seem. Although, for people like you, maybe they SHOULD be.

Addressed to:
icsowesmemoney( below)

LMAO!! My first thought upon reading your answer was hilarity. And then, when I read it again, I became very, very, angry. The reason why us " stupid" peolpe get on here and ask such " stupid" questions is because there are opinions that people on here can give us that websites DON'T offer. There is a wealth of knowledge that people on Yahoo Answers do know. I am sure that you have asked a " dumb" question before, but someone was just too kind to point it out to you. I pity someone like you for thinking this way. You obviously have a closed mine to ways that you can learn things. Or is it because you have a " small" mind. I can also tell that the size of your brain coincides with the size of your d***. I am sorry to have to be so rude, but you took it there, so I am just reciprocating what you dished out. I also want to tell you to lighten up in life. Things are never as hard as they seem. Although, for people like you, maybe they SHOULD be.

Addressed to"
icsowesmemoney
Oh, and I repeated it twice because I want you to know where I am REALLY coming from. I hope you read it ALL!! Have a good day!! :(

Answer 1

Here is my tried and true approach to the land of the happy Tomato Eater.

Tomato Starting Formula

This is the amount for each plant—obviously if you are planting lots of plants make a big batch and divide evenly.

1 Handful Fertilizer
1 Handful Lime
2 Hands full Peat Moss
2 Hands full Potting soil
2 Hands full “Black Cow” (or any manure compost available to you)
1 Tablespoon Epsom Salts


Before planting you should have tilled the soil thoroughly and as deep as possible. Plants don’t like hard compact soil. If possible a 2' x 2' hole that is 2' deep would be ideal. They find it much easier to extend their little roots in well tilled and aerated soil. Dig out a hole in the soil about a foot deep with a spade.

This formula will give them a good start—they will need to be fertilized again about the time they start putting on the first little tomatoes. DO NOT over fertilize them, or any other plant or you will “burn” the plant and kill it.

Mix all ingredients together in a bucket and stir together thoroughly. Place in the bottom of your hole and mix gently with loose soil there. Place Tomato Plant in hole on top of this mixture and pull soil around the plant. Water thoroughly and wait for the water to soak in. Then pull more soil around plant.

As the plant grows keep pulling more soil around the bottom of the stalk and covering the lower branches that are not putting on blooms. Covering them this way will cause the plant to generate more roots--more roots equals more nutrients to the plant and a stronger healthier plant.

Watch for little holes in the leaves, that will mean little bugs are eating them. That is when I start applications of Sevin Dust. An even better choice (I am converting to this) is Diatomaceous Earth (see link below) as it is not toxic to any vertebrate (us, kids, dogs, etc.) but will kill anything with an exoskeleton (your average bug.)

As the plant grows be sure to keep it watered. (We are having a dry summer so far and I have watered gently but thoroughly every two days so far.) I like to water in the late afternoon. So the plant has a chance to soak up a good drink and the heat won't evaporate too much of the water.

My plants were put in around Easter, they are all at least 4 feet tall and getting heavy with small to medium sized green tomatoes.

I recommend using a wire basket to support them. You can buy a roll of “hog wire” aka “welded wire” aka “welded cattle wire” at your local Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc. and cut it (with wire cutters of course) to make your baskets. This is much cheaper than buying them already made. You will want them to be 48 inches tall and cut so that they are about two and a half feet in diameter. We put them down when the plants are around 1 to 1 ½ feet tall and drive stakes into the ground at opposite sides of the basket and tie the basket to the stakes to keep it from being knocked over by creatures, me, or stormy weather. As they grow watch the branches (check every couple of days) and don't let them hang up in the lower openings in the wire. GENTLY pull them from the inside and let them move up with the plant growth. Otherwise you will have a lot of stuff at or on the ground.

If you are going to start from seed then it is quite late in the year to try. Recommend buying plants from your local garden centers. Seed starting needs to begin 6 to 8 weeks before your expected planting date. But you should still get a crop if you go ahead and plant. Late is better than never in this case.

Answer 2

The following are some simple steps: Side shoots: nip out side shoots that appear above leaves on the stem. Not the trusses which will produce tomatoes. You will need a very light brush, we used to use a rabbits tail, to transfer the pollen from flower to flower - just a light brush. If you are a smoker, make sure your hands are clean as tomatoes hate nicotine. Before the plant is established, about a foot tall, place a stout stake well into the ground and loosely tie the tomato plant to it as it grows. When you decide how many trusses you want on each plant, be it five or six, snip out the top of the plant. When the small tomatoes appear, the base of the plant, and not the green leaves, must be kept very well watered, sometimes twice daily. A tomatoe feed must be used. This can be bought, but I found that nettles left in water with some cows poo, left to ferment, then the liquid drawn off acts just as well as the purchased brand. Don't panic, just follow your instincts and you will have a fantastic growth.......

Answer 3

I start seeds indoors. Now is to late for that so buy some plants of the same brand.
Outside I turn over the soil. When I am ready to plant I add bone meal to the bottom and blood meal around the top.

when I plant, I plant half the plant in the soil, and I put a long stake in the ground. Also, plant at least two plants. I keep it simple, but there is some good advice in the answers,

Answer 4

Sounds like your soil is the problem. What I did is add mushroom compost (any decent compost would work) and cow manure to amend my soil. We have mostly clay here in E TN, so this not only enriched my soil, but made it easier to work with. I also plant my plants sideways when I first plant them, with about 3-5 inches of the bottom part of the stalk buried along with the root. This lets the plant develop a lot more roots and makes them healthier.
Since yours are planted, I would try adding cow manure around them now and see if that helps.
If you add lime, do it in the fall and let it sit for a few months to amend your soil before you plant anything.
good luck.

Answer 5

Here are some tips:
When planting, turn over all the soil in your planting area; don't just dig a hole and drop the plant in. Well-aerated soil allows mor room for root growth. If you're starting them from seed, start them indoors and plant them once they are established; starting them from seed outdoors leads to smaller plants, at least in my experience. Also, don't plant too early.

Give your plants something to climb on, preferably some of those round wire "tomato cages" that allow the plant to grow upwards. It encourages larger fruits.

Keep the soil well watered, (remember tomatoes are mostly water!) and once every week to 10 days use a good fertilizer like Miracle-Gro (mix with water as per directions).

These simple tips work well for me. Hope they help you too.

Answer 6

i have for the last 5 years planted my tomato plants in 2 hole cinder blocks. the hole is large enough to fill with a miracle grow soil , don't have to weed, blocks hold heat. i put a 6 foot oak steak in the hole to tie the tomato plant too. i do this system with pepper plants, cucumber with a wire fence to hold the cucumbers off ground

Answer 7

1. You need some barb wire for your tomato vines to hang on to. The vines are very weak, and need support.

2. Might need to put some fertizer in it.

Answer 8

You should get a soil sample from your garden to an environmental lab for analysis.

Answer 9

I had the same problem with mine. I added lime (i think i'm spelling it wrong, but it isn't the fruit), it comes in big bags, you dump it in the soil and till it in.

Answer 10

AND I QUOTE---


"Why do people get on here and ask these DUMB questions like this!!" If you want to know sooo much about someone else's TOMATO life, "then get off the computer, and ask someone on the street!! Grow up!! "